Matthew Shipp Trio: Circular Temple

On a good day it is strenuous to stay current with pianist Matthew Shipp's imposing and voluminous output. On an even better day it is a fool's hardy errand to say the least. Now with the planned re-issuing of some of his great early deconstructions of musical thought and theory, starting here with 1990's daringly incongruous yet hypnotically accessible, Circular Temple, keeping up just got a whole lot harder.

With William Parker on bass and Whit Dickey on drums, this four-movement suite for piano, bass, and drums takes its opening jab with "Circular Temple #1," Shipp's brief though lush and orchestral overlay quickly challenged by Parker's sawing insistence and Dickey's broad concussions. It is the sound of men listening and the sound of men arguing for the better and for the good of the collective. Each man wastes no time getting to the crux of the apogee, making "Circular Temple #1" a forceful, free jazz anarchy.

"Circular Temple #2 (Monk's Nightmare)" could very well be considered a tribute of sorts to Thelonious Monk's oft-quoted acrobatics and curious musical dictums. Shipp skitters and riles through the rhythmic cacophony, jumping through hoops effortlessly with broken melodics only Monk (and Shipp) could conjure, while "Circular Temple #3" resolves the arguments at the warring heart of "Circular Temple #1" with a Dickey/Shipp duet.

At twenty-six plus minutes, "Circular Temple #4" is, as it was at the time of its original release, Shipp's elusive blueprint, an angular template to his thinking and performance. But Shipp has given us so much in the three-decade expanse since then that it is literally impossible to measure. Let's just say that the man has stayed true to his vision, making Circular Temple not just as defining and revealing as it definitely was then, but more a prelude to now. Available September 15, on vinyl, CD, and all digital formats.

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